


the bells i hear

by jotsuko



Category: Dragon Age: Inquisition
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-21
Updated: 2016-07-21
Packaged: 2018-07-25 21:06:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,603
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7547265
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jotsuko/pseuds/jotsuko
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>look, it's really nice that you want to stop the mage war, i'm all for it, but my hand is glowing and you're pointing a sword at my chest.</p>
            </blockquote>





	the bells i hear

**Author's Note:**

> this my child Captain Trevie, they are like? 19 and I love them! this is just one of those prologue........ chapters. i have like 3 more things 2 do today
> 
> ALSO captain is Not their first name, it's their title, but they use it as a first name because they don't use their first name unless it is around family. thank u for ur time

The circumstances surrounding Captain Trevelyan's arrival at the conclave were suspicious in of themself. The Captain had traveled on their own, a late addition to the Conclave as their parents had decided that someone from the main house should be present to assist the others. They had arrived late, slowed down after their lone horse was attacked by a few unknown bandits. Although they were neither numerous or strong, they were enough to delay the captain’s own arrival by at least ten minutes. Trevelyan, being from a noble house close to the Chantry, might have seen it as foreboding message, a sign that something, or someone, was purposefully trying to delay them for their own safety, if they hadn't been so thoroughly irritated from the long journey already. As it was, they just wanted to head to the conclave, assist their cousins and other relatives with negotiations, and go to an inn as quickly as possible. Their older siblings had often made jokes about the youngest heir being cursed, with all the trouble they got into. They thought about the old jokes with a derisive snort as they climbed off of their horses’ back, walking briskly up the rest of the path. The spoiled child thought they deserved a hot meal and warm bed after the horrors they went through (although it was really just the one attack).

But nothing is ever that fucking easy, is it?

When they woke up in a cold cell, shackled in place with guards surrounding them with swords drawn, they toyed with the idea that the playful teasing from their siblings might have had an idiom of truth to them. The bandit attack might not have cemented the idea, but the glowing, painful green mark on their left hand sure was quickly changing their mind.

One of the guards had stepped out of the musty room as soon as their head had raised. They deduced that someone of importance was probably coming, to scream and attempt to intimidate. When the door opened and the guards stood considerably straighter, they knew they were in for some trouble.

The first woman who entered was a sharp and intimidating one. She glared at the teenager before her with slanted eyes and mouth shut tightly. Trevelyan noticed the emblem of the Seekers on the breastplate of her armor. Her posture was tense and rigid. The one behind her was a red headed and wore purple cloaks. Her face was much more passive, and her hands clasped behind her back instead of sitting by her sides in fists like the other. The usual good interrogator, bad interrogator shick. The Captain might have played along for a little, had they not been so thoroughly pissed off.

"You-"

"Where are my family members?" Trevelyn snapped before the dark haired one could speak. "My aunts and uncles, my cousins. They won't take kindly to knowing you've got me holed up in here." They knew they were acting quite rudely, but under the circumstances thought it justified.

It probably was a mistake to speak like that, given the look of absolute spite the Seeker fixed on them. She stalked towards them, one finger pointed and her body somehow tensed even further. Captain instinctively tried to move away, having flashbacks to an awfully strict tutor they once had. The other woman, the quieter readhead, gave a warning 'Cassandra' and the Seeker relaxed slightly, but the distaste she spoke with was still evident through her thick accent.

"Your family likely died at the conclave, just like everyone else." Cassandra all but spat at them.

Trevelyn kept their face neutral, but felt their hands start to twitch. They choked out a small 'oh' that most likely went unheard. Briefly, they thought about the family they knew would be assisting with negotiations. Most were all pretty distant, and only a few from the main Trevelyan branch could attend, but it hurt to know that they would be gone, never to be seen again at the family gatherings. They felt their eyes sting, but there was no time for crying, not now at least. Instead, they looked down to examine their restraints, trying to piece together what had happened and keep a controlled facade. "You think it was me."

"You were the only survivor." The red-haired one spoke before Cassandra could. "Not to mention that mark on your hands glows the color of the breach in the sky. Do you, perhaps, remember anything? How this all began?"

Head still down, Trevelyan glanced at the mark on their hand. It pulsed with every breath sending a dull pain up their arm. They couldn’t remember anything. Thinking back towards the events only caused a headache, another headache, and they were sure the Seeker wouldn't like that story.

The Seeker and redhead watched them expectantly as the silence stretched on. After a while, Trevelyan gave up, shaking their head, looking the Seeker in the face dumbly.

"I don't know how it got there."

Not even a second later and they knew it was a mistake, being manhandled by the Seeker as she screamed at them for lying, before the redhead, Leliana, physically pulled her off of them (Cassandra and Leliana. They struggled to remember where they had heard that specific pair of names before). Trevelyan tried their best to explain the glowing woman who had saved them without sounding like it was a leftover figment from a fever dream. In the end, it was decided that Cassandra would take the prisoner out, first to a camp and then to the very breach itself.

“I don’t really want to.”

“You don’t have a choice, child.” Cassandra hissed and hoisted them up, forcing the shackled person into the unforgiving winter air.

The breach had reacted to their presence almost as soon as they were outside, flaring and causing the mark on their hand to flare up really badly. They cried out as they fell to the ground, keeling over and holding the marked hand close to their body until the pain subsided. The slight pulses that came afterwards seemed a blessing in compassion to the pain that had shot up their entire left arm. Once they calmed down, Cassandra knelt in front of them.

“Each time the breach expands, your mark spreads. It is killing you.”

“What does it matter to you? You want me dead anyways.” It was a whisper, Trevelyan unable to find their full voice after the onslaught of pain, but Cassandra was close enough that she might have heard it. They were unsure if she ignored it or hadn’t heard at all as she continued.

“It may be the key to stopping this, but there isn’t much time.”

Captain looked at the stern woman in front of them. However coarse she was, she did seem to be doing what she thought was best, and cooperating seemed to be the only way to ensure they’d have a chance at avenging their family. They sighed.

“All right.”

Cassandra raised one dark eyebrow. “Then…”

“I’ll do what I can. Let’s get moving before it actually does kill me.” Captain grunted and held out their bound arms so that Cassandra could pull them up. She stared at them for a few brief moments before lifting them up. She didn’t remove the hand on their arm when they started walking, however, and even though the Captain wanted to protest, they knew that the Seeker holding them was all that kept the townspeople from attacking or launching objects at their head. That and, of course, her glare/

Trevelyan soon found just how terrifying that very glare was when she fixed them with it, sword drawn after seeing that Captain had taken up weapons to fend off a demon. Terrified, they dropped the sword and shield automatically. After that mess had been sorted out, the noble vowed never to get on the Seeker’s bad side again.

\------

“I know who they are.” The Chancellor spat after Leliana tried to introduce them, sizing Trevelyan up with squinted eyes. Captain Trevelyan felt irritation bubble up inside of them. “This criminal should be taken to Val Royeaux to face execution.”

“Messere, I will consent to going to Val Royeaux for a trial, but it will take time to get into Orlais, and the breach is right there!” Their family had always taught them to be respectful to all chantry sisters and other members, but the Chancellor was already making it really hard.

“You brought this on us in the first place!” He spat, quick as everyone else had been to make assumptions (quite unbecoming of a ranked member of the chantry) and Captain was suddenly tired of playing nice.

“Get fucked, Chancellor.” Varric, a dwarf they’d met, choked on his own spit, whilst the elven mage Solas might have even chuckled.

The Chancellor reddened significantly, and Leliana quickly got them back onto the situation at hand. Trevelyan listened, but decided it best to keep their mouth shut. It was a tremendous task, having to listen to Chancellor Roderick slander their family’s name and accuse them of things as if they weren’t standing right in front of him. Apparently, Cassandra was less inclined to deal with his nonsense than they were, and outright ignored his suggestions (demands more like) to turn back.

“You’re asking for my opinion, Seeker? That is a first!” They tried to joke, but they were still harboring some resentment towards her, so it came off as rude. They toyed with the idea of apologizing, but they knew they wouldn’t.

Cassandra’s eyes narrowed, and she spoke sharply. “You are the only one capable of closing the breach, Trevelyan. I would have your consent as we move forward.”

They considered it, staring at the mountain ahead of them. The charge would be easier, but Cassandra had mentioned a missing patrol...

“Through the mountains, then. We should look for your patrol.” They started walking ahead, not bothering to see if the rest followed, as they surely would. Cassandra fell into step next to Trevelyan, and they both heard the Chancellor hiss his final warning.

“On your head be the consequences, Seeker.”

“He’s just a ray of positivity.” Varric muttered, glancing at the Chancellor over one shoulder. Trevelyan turned their head and stuck their tongue out.

\-----

They hated demons. Absolutely fucking hated them. The small ones hadn’t been that bad. They were ugly and repulsive, sure, but they were somewhat weak and easy to cut down. As they dodged another ball of storm energy aimed at them, they wished for the smaller demons. The demon in front of them, which Solas had warned was a Pride demon, was covered in a shell like armor that they had to wear down before they could actually harm it. The Captain was not willing to get close to it, and ran whenever it started their way until it set its sights elsewhere.

They stayed near the breach, and with every attempt to close it, the Pride Demon was weakened, as was Trevelyan themself. It hurt. A lot. They were glad that the others were keeping it and the other demons busy for the most part, because they weren’t quite sure they’d be able to fight and close the rift with the waves of pain.

They bashed a demon that came upon them with their shield, and one of the archers finished it with a well placed arrow. They nodded at him in acknowledgement and looked at the rift, waiting for it to crystallize once again so they could attempt to close it. The Pride Demon howled in rage, Trevelyan suddenly aware that they’d stopped checking for it, and they were thrown across the ruins. Solas placed a barrier over them that absorbed some of the damage in the nick of time, but the Captain still tasted blood on their tongue.

They rolled out of the way as it attempted to step on them and finally drew their weapon. The whole running away thing was not helping them or anyone else

“Varric, aim for the center of it’s chest. The shell isn’t as strong there. Solas, keep cover on Cassandra and I and aim for the chest as well. Cassandra and I will attempt to immobilize it by aiming for it’s ankles! Let’s go!”

Captain realized, after they’d said their piece, that the three of them had no real reason to listen to them. This wasn’t their families guard, they were a prisoner, and much younger than all of them. That didn’t stop them from following through, to Trevelyan’s surprise. The Pride Demon was gripping at its chest, which was full of arrows and ice shards. Cassandra and Trevelyan both focused on a leg, and the demon fell forward with a shriek. Cassandra took the final blow, and it finally died.

“Now, Trevelyan! Seal it!” They didn’t need to be told twice, and they raised their hand, watching as a rope of green magic, like a thread sewing a piece of cloth, connected them to the breach. They felt a pull in their hand, and they yanked, closing the rift and sending its energy straight into the breach. They heard the shouting but they were already on the ground, holding their hand and they laid face first in the ground.

It stopped hurting.

They blacked out.

\------  
It was unnerving. It was all really unnerving

Just being near the poor servant girl had nearly thrown her into a panic, and she was barely able to tell them that they’d been out for three days. After the skittish girl left, they took the medicine that she’d left on the cabin floor and dressed, worrying for a few brief seconds who had been the one to change them, and opened the door.

There were soldiers there, standing at attention and looking at Trevelyan. The Captain raised an eyebrow at them as they closed the door behind them. Beyond the guards themselves, there was a group of people, mostly common folk and guards standing in front of them to keep them off the path. Although the elven girl had assured them that the people were, for the most part, happy with them, they still felt panic bubble up within them, and their throat closed up. They just had to make it to the Chantry, they’d be safe inside.

Finally leaving the doorframe caused the two guards to fall into step behind them, and the crowds murmurs grew louder as they passed. Captain dared look into the crowd, expecting anger or resentment to color their faces, and only saw adoration and smiling faces. One man bowed his head and they nodded back, facing the front again quite quickly. 

The walk to the Chantry took less that thirty seconds, but it felt like minutes stretched on as the entire population of Haven watched their every move. With the Chantry doors closed firmly behind them, they felt the could finally breathe and loosened their collar a bit. The relative peace dissipated as they heard yelling from a door in the back of the Chantry. They could recognize the voices, and it was obvious the conversation was heated. As the walked closer, they realized that the conversation was about them. Apparently, the Chancellor was not as happy with them as everyone else had been.

When the door opened, said Chancellor looked at Captain with a fire even more harsh than the one he’d had when they were first introduced. The pointed to the guards behind them and barked. “Chain them! They must be prepared to be taken to Val Royeaux for trial.”

“Disregard that, and leave us.” Cassandra hissed, frowning at Roderick as he locked eyes with her as well. Leliana stood away from the two, remaining as calm and cool as she had during the issue at the Conclave.

As soon as the door closed, the Chancellor turned on the darker-haired woman. “You walk a dangerous line, Seeker.” He spoke with the same tone of voice Chantry tutors would use when they chastised children. Cassandra outright scowled.

“The breach is stable, but it is still a threat. We cannot ignore it.”

“I tried to close the breach.” The two stopped their staring contest to look directly at the elephant in the room. “I fought through countless demons, and I almost died trying to close it for good. Does that count for nothing?”

“Yet, you live. A very convenient result as far as you are concerned.”

Of course, there would be no way of actually getting through to that man. The table between them didn’t stop Trevelyan as they leaned over it, bracing themselves up with one hand with the other pointed dangerously close to the Chancellor. He flinched. “Listen here, you pompous earwig, I was out cold for three fucking days-”

Leliana was behind them, grabbing both of their arms and gently pulling them away from the Chancellor before things got heated. They still fumed, but Leliana’s presence was calming enough that they backed down with a sigh, relaxing their shoulders and shaking their head.

“Now that the Herald has calmed themself, shall we get back to business?” Leliana released her hold on Captain and walked closer to Cassandra and Roderick. “Someone caused the explosion at the Conclave, and it was someone that Most Holy did not expect.”

“They may have died, assuming the explosion was not the intended result, or have alliances with some who are still alive.”

“I am a suspect?”

“You, and many others.” Leliana’s voice was even, but her expression was hard.

“But not the prisoner?” Captain had to admit it sounded ridiculous when framed that way, but they’d die before they ever agreed with the Chancellor.

“I heard the voices at the Conclave. Divine Justinia called to them for help, from whoever was attacking her.” Cassandra came to their defense, and Captain couldn’t help the look of surprise that graced their face.

“So their survival, the thing on their hand- It was all just a coincidence?”

“Providence.” Cassandra looked at Trevelyan directly as she continued to speak. “The maker sent them to us in our darkest hour.”

“He’s bad at choosing his champions.” The joke fell flat, and the Seeker raised an eyebrow. The issue was a bit too heavy for their liking, especially when it put them in the center of it all.

“No matter what you may believe, you are what we needed exactly when we needed it.” She turned away, presumably to retrieve something, and Leliana spoke in her steed.

“The breach remains, and your mark is still our only hope of closing it.”

“That is not for you to decide.” The Chancellor barked, and Cassandra came between Leliana and Roderick holding a thick tome. She dropped it onto the table, causing both the Chancellor and the Captain to jump.

“This is a writ from the Divine, Chancellor, granting us the authority to act. As of this moment, I declare the Inquisition reborn. We will close the breach, find those responsible, and restore order, with our without your approval.” As she stalked towards him, the Chancellor blanched and scurried backwards. With one last glare directed at Captain, he walked out of the door, allowing it to slam behind him.

His departure left the room in silence. Cassandra’s anger calmed for the moment, she took to pacing. Leliana stood in front of the Divine’s writ, tracing the cover with her fingers.

“We aren’t ready, Cassandra. We have no leader, no numbers, and if the Chancellor’s own thought process mimics the rest, no Chantry support.”

“We have no other choice.” Cassandra muttered with a sigh and pinched the bridge of her nose. She turned her attention onto Captain Trevelyan once again. “We must act now, with you at our side.”

They tilted their head. “So, is this your way of asking what I want to do again? Are you really giving me an option, when I’m literally the only means of closing the rifts?”

“Although I judged you in anger before, I cannot, in good conscience, force you to remain with us after what you have suffered.”

“Isn’t that kind of silly? What if I decided that whatever apology you have to offer didn’t make up for it? What if I refused to join?” Cassandra’s lips pursed.

“You could leave, if you wished. But be aware that many still believe you guilty. The Inquisition can offer some protection, but only if you join us freely.”

Of course they knew their life was in danger if they left, and it was as good a reason as any to stay. But their family could offer elysium as well. But were they guaranteed to make it all the way back to Ostwick without someone recognizing them, or the damning mark? And if they did make it, would that leave the family open to attack from rivals who would take the opportunity to disparage the Trevelyan line?

“This entire mess has been so confusing, and I certainly did not expect… This.”

Leliana laughed. “Neither did we.”

“Help us fix this, Trevelyan, before it is too late.”

The teenager frowned, examining the expressions on both women's faces. Even if they didn’t believe they could trust either of them yet, personally, they had to admit that the cause was just. They made a big show of putting their hand to their face as if they were contemplating before the spoke again.

“So… A heretic Trevelyan! I wonder if I’m the first in the family?”

“You mean…” Cassandra started, looking for further clarification.

Captain Trevelyan offered her a small grin. “I’m ready to do my part.”

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading i hope you enjoyed!


End file.
